Geneva, Switzerland Report of what it's like to live there - 10/17/13
Personal Experiences from Geneva, Switzerland
School Name:
College du Leman
Background Information:
1. Are you the parent of a child(ren) attending this school? A teacher at the school? Or both?
Parent.
2. What grade or grades do/did your children attend at the school? During what year(s) did they attend the school?
7, 10, IB2.
3. During what years were you affiliated with this school?
2011-2014.
4. What was your reason for living in the city where the school is located (e.g., government, military, corporate, NGO, retired)?
Government.
5. Are other schools available to expatriates in this city? Why did you choose this particular school?
Quality of education; US-type diploma program available; Extra-curricular sports and other afterschool activities; All kids on one campus; Administration is small and approachable.
Admissions & Welcome:
1. How would you rate the school's support and welcome/integration of new students and their families, and why?
PFA greets new families at Orientation. With CDL's Direction, it throws a free BBQ at the start of the year to bring the whole school together as one community -- students, parents, teachers, and staff. Admissions staff and parents greet new families at a special meeting point. PFA also hosts Welcome Coffees and a seminar on Swiss Traffic Rules for newcomers. New families are encouraged to attend PFA meetings, which are open to all. PFA also runs Parent Time, which provides a wide range of clubs and activities for parents (hiking, skiing, tours & outings, stay-at-home dads, book clubs, etc.), and these activities are a great way for parents to get to know each other. For the kids, CDL plans Discovery Days and field trips (usually into the mountains) at the start of the year to help them get to know their classmates. For some parents, these trips happen too soon, and some kids are not comfortable leaving home so soon after arriving. Others think the trips are a great way for the kids to quickly get to know each other.
Administration & School Procedures:
1. For the following attributes, down to the next blank box, grade your experience at the school on a scale of A (excellent) to F (unacceptable/terrible) and provide comments:<br><br>Overall fair and equitable treatment of all students and families:
A: CDL has new direction, under the leadership of Yves Theze. In my opinion, the Direction is willing to listen to, and share information with, parents, even if we don't always agree. The new Direction has proved to be a good and fair partner to CDL's very active Parent-Faculty Assoc. Teachers have been fair to my children.
2. How is the overall communication between teachers and parents, and the administration and parents? How is communication facilitated?
I have not had any problem communicating with teachers, either by email or in person. Truly, it's been as easy as if I were in an American school, and I was surprised to see the previous poster's comments to the contrary. It is true that some teachers did not alert parents about poor performance in advance of report cards a couple of years ago, and CDL has addressed that. We come from a big US school, and I have been very impressed by how well the teachers seem to know my kids. The teachers submit extensive, individualized comments with the report cards and meet with parents on conference days held 2-3 times/year. They are also happy to meet with parents at other times of the year, if parents would like. CDL is rolling out a new online "parent portal," which will allow parents to view their child's grades as the teacher records them, to track homework, to easily access teacher emails, etc. It should be up and running by some time this year, so it is still early to tell how well it will work.
3. Services for gifted students who need academic challenge and students with learning difficulties:
CDL started a Special Needs program last year.
4. Availability and variety of after-school activities for various ages:
CDL has a very wide and varied after school line-up and it keeps expanding -- soccer, basketball, rugby, gymnastics, cheerleading, archery, running club (for Primary), pony club (for Primary), arts, orchestra, rock band, the "non" rock band, chorus, private music lessons, charities, drama, Model UN, etc. This year, certain activities that were traditionally for boarding students were made available to day students, as well (e.g. golf, sailing.) Most team sports for MS and HS are free, which is amazing for this area. Others are offered at additional cost, which can sometimes be very high and, for us, prohibitively high.
5. Maintenance of appropriately high standards for all students:
I've been particularly impressed with the IB teachers. The standards are very high. They know each child well and work with them as individuals to reach the high standards that they set.
6. Administration-parent communication:
It is true, as the other poster suggested, that CDL used to do a poor job communicating with parents about what was happening at the school -- test dates, meeting times, sporting events, etc. A little over a year ago, the Parent-Faculty Association asked CDL to create a biweekly newsletter. They worked with us to create CDL News, and it has improved communications tremendously. You can see some past editions on the website.
7. Does your child receive any special-needs assistance or instruction at this school? If yes, what types? Who provides services and where:
No.
8. Please describe any classes or programs that you believe are missing:
IB music and/or drama.
9. Are there academic requirements such as trips or other activities that cost money in addition to school fees?
Yes. There are trips at the start of the year for all of the kids, which are designed to help them get to know each other and engage in out-of-classroom learning. They are considered mandatory and can be quite expensive. There are also non-mandatory trips offered, many of which are excellent. My daughter has had opportunities to go on other non-required trips -- to see Shakespeare at Stratford-on-Avon with her IB English class and to go to Paris with her IB French class.
10. Have your children participated in the activities offered? If no, please indicate why:
Yes. They actually have had more opportunity to try different sports at CDL than they would have had in the US, where try-outs are required to play on most teams. They've had the chance to get involved in some very exciting and rewarding charity activities, as well. Two of my children are involved in private music lessons, which meet at the school. CDL offers late buses for kids who take afterschool activities, and these can be very convenient.
11. Please describe any problem areas or challenges in social interaction at the school:
The school is always looking for ways to strengthen relationships between the English-speaking and French-speaking families, as well as between the day students and boarding students.
Academics & Resources:
1. What personal or academic counseling resources are available at this school? Is there a dedicated college counselor at the school? Is he/she familiar with universities worldwide?
CDL has 3.5 college counselors. The current counselors are knowledgeable and work hard. But the school is so diverse -- with children receiving 4 different types of diplomas and going to school in numerous countries around the world -- that more counseling resources are needed.
2. Does the school have a library? How large is it? How updated are the books? Can students borrow books to read at home?
There is one library for the Primary School and one for the MS/HS. Neither is huge. My kids use them mainly to find English books to read for fun. They tend to use the computer for research.
3. How are information technology resources at the school. Are they up-to-date? Is there a computer lab?
They're rolling out Ipads grade-by-grade. They also teach computer skills during computer classes or "CSL" (College, Study and Life Skills) classes.
4. Describe the physical education resources at the school. Is there a gym? A swimming pool? Are there playing fields or tennis courts available?
CDL requires PE, all the way into the HS. It also offers a wide range of extra-curr sports, more so than most other international schools here. This is one reason we chose CDL over Ecole Int. But don't expect an American type school. Each sport meets just once or twice per week with only a handful of competitions throughout the season. Kids who want to compete at a higher,more serious level tend to participate in sports programs in the surrounding communities. CDL provides shuttle buses to some of these and others are within walking distance. Because there are so many anglophone expats in the area, many of the programs operate in English and French, but not all. (The running club mentioned in the previous review does, in fact, operate in both languages, with Swedish coaches and a mix of English-speaking and French-speaking kids. The PE Dept can advise on good community clubs. The coaches at CDL are well-known and are a big part of the school spirit at CDL.
5. What is the approximate teacher-to-student ratio in the grades that your child attended?
In the older grades (11 and 12), classes can be quite small, less than 10. Most classes seem to have 15-20 kids.
6. Are Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) courses available in upper grades? If this is an IB school, is the full diploma required of all students?
No AP in Grades 9 or 10. AP and IB for Grades 11 and 12.
7. Is the amount and type of homework generally appropriate for the age and grade of the students?
Yes.
8. What fine arts electives are available (music, drama, visual arts)?
Art, music and drama are required in MS. There is an IB art program, but no IB music yet. There are plans to start a strings program in the Primary School, where every child takes violin during the school day. There are also a variety of options afterschool: a great rock band for the HS kids, a string orchestra, a traditional band, a drama club, after-school art classes, and a pretty extensive private music program. These all cost money and you will find that the prices in Geneva, and in every private school in this area, are high!
9. Are the teachers at the school required to speak English as a first language--or at least fluently?
My children are in the English-speaking section of the school. They personally haven't had any teachers who were not fluent. I'm not sure what the requirement is.
10. What extra-curricular activities (including sports) are available at this school? Have your children participated in these activities? What activities do you feel are missing at the school?
Yes, see above.
Social & Emotional Well-Being:
1. Do expatriate students socialize with local students at the school? Are both groups successfully integrated into the school culture?
They tend to socialize with other CDL kids outside of class.
2. Are there are any problems with exclusionary behavior, cliques, or bullying at this school? Please describe any problems your children may have experienced in this area.
Not that I'm aware of. There are many more expat kids at the school than local kids.
Overall Impressions:
1. What is the greatest strength of this school?
It is truly an "international" school, with more than 100 nationalities represented in English-speaking and French-speaking programs. It has the feel of a small school, where the administration and teachers know the children well, tailor their teaching, and care about them as individuals. It is lucky to have many teachers, who are talented, creative and dedicated, and go well beyond the classroom to contribute to the school. It has an administration that is approachable and willing to listen.
2. Greatest challenge?
Continuing to create a single school community, rather than separate anglo, franco and boarding communities. Dealing with the high costs of books, trips, cafeteria, etc.
3. Would you choose this school again? Why?
Yes.
